Bandages
by Haggath
Summary: Tenten has often wondered why Neji wears bandages. One-shot, NejiTen


Disclaimer: The anime and manga 'Naruto' are the property of Masashi Mishimoto and his respective partners. I'm not making any money with this fanfic.

Author's notes: Random burst of inspiration. That is all. Read and enjoy.

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**Bandages  
**by Haggath

Tenten often finds herself wondering why her teammate wears bandages on his arms. No, she doesn't mean the bandages of the spandex-clad shining beacon of youth, she knows Lee's bandages are on his arms because they are part of his taijutsu techniques, and that the wrappings also hide the bruises and cuts on his knuckles caused by his training.

No, she wonders why her _other _teammate, the Hyuuga prodigy, wears bandages. Neji's dressings serve no practical purpose; All of his techniques are based on the famous Hyuuga martial arts and bandages have nothing to do with them. He doesn't train like Lee, making over-dramatic and loud vows of how he is going to beat the log one thousand times or how he's going to walk around Konoha on his knuckles - and Tenten is thankful for that, mind you, for it's enough to put up with Gai-sensei and Lee. So, the bandages can't be there to cover bruises, right?

But sometimes, just sometimes when they train, and Lee manages to score a blow on his arms or Neji puts them up in order to block an oncoming roundhouse kick, Tenten can see how he winces ever-so-slightly, and it has nothing to do with the impact, for he's used to blocking and absorbing blows like a shinobi should be. If she had to guess, she would say Lee managed to hit an old injury or a fresh bruise - but that makes no sense, because Neji has _never_ been injured on his arms; he treasures them like she treasures her weapon scrolls and favourite kunais, and for the same reason too: His arms _are_ his weapons.

Those moments seem to take place in a completely random pattern, and he never explains, never says anything about his arms or his bandages, never tells Lee and Tenten to take it easy on him - and it irks her, for she _sees_ he's in pain and she _knows_ he's too indulged in that stupid Hyuuga pride to tell them, _her_, that something is wrong. The next day he's wearing new, clean bandages, and everything is back to normal again.

One day, when Tenten's and Neji's one-on-one training is over and they are about to leave, he says he's going to stay behind and train his byakugan. Tenten nods in approval and sets off, telling that they'll see each other tomorrow, but in reality she goes into hiding a safe distance away from him, digging her binoculars from her pack. She knows that something is off, for their training wasn't to improve his _Kaiten_, but instead to work on his non-chakra weapon avoiding and deflection skills, as he insisted - and Neji has _never _insisted something like that before.

When he begins to open the bandages on his arm, she is proven correct, and a small blush invades her cheeks because she is consciously _spying on Hyuuga Neji when he strips!_ But that blush dies down when she sees his bare arms and the red, swollen, undoubtedly sore tenketsu points. Suddenly, she remembers her first chuunin exam: the fight between Neji and Hinata, how he closed the tenketsu points in her arm, and how similar that sight was to what she's currently looking at now. And she remembers a fleeting moment from yesterday, when Neji departed immediately after their B-rank mission, saying something about 'family training'.

Suddenly, she's very angry for the Hyuugas and their brutal training procedure, and her anger changes to infuriation when she watches the prodigy rub ointment - which is no doubt made by Hinata, she notes - around the throbbing tenketsu points with careful, pained movements. She watches him slowly but skilfully wrap new bandages on his arm, wondering how many times he has repeated that procedure, all the while hoping she could just _strangle_ the bastard who did that to him.

The next time Neji when is unintentionally wincing from Lee's blows happens a few weeks afterwards. As usual, he says nothing, confident that no one will notice it. When team Gai's afternoon training is over and they're calling it a day - save Lee, who is making a teary vow of doing three hundred push-ups with his index fingers, Gai-sensei all the while encouraging him with just as much tears - Tenten calls out for Neji, asking him to stay behind for a while. He obeys, for she usually doesn't demand anything. When Lee and Gai leave for their late training, she approaches him and grabs his wrists. He doesn't pull off, but she can't tell if it's because he trusts her, because he's too shocked to move, because he's in too much pain, or because of all three combined.

When she runs her fingers gently over the bandages, she can feel him tense up, and she asks in the friendliest, steadiest voice she can muster: 'How are your arms?' And he stares at her with a cold and indifferent mask, and she can suddenly see the Neji who tried to kill his own cousin again, in all his glorious 'glacier-up-his-ass' attitude and 'fate-is-unavoidable' mindset. And then the moment passes: He sighs ever-so-softly and replies that his arms are fine. She smiles an amused, ironic smile, both of them well aware that he's lying.

When Tenten opens the knot of his bandages and tells him to sit down, he's silent and tense but does as he is told nonetheless. Her smile is serene, friendly, and comforting, with a speck of blush dancing on her cheeks as she gently rolls open his wrappings. She bites her lower lip in order to make herself not to grimace and yell out how utterly _barbaric_ the Hyuugas are when she sees the swollen tenketsu points again, this time from close distance. Neji's eyes are shut, his expression forced into that unreadable mask he's so famous of, and she has to stifle a giggle when she imagines that he must look just the same when he has a dentist's appointment.

She silently admires his soft skin when she carefully rubs the ointment - ointment _she _has made, not Hinata - around the red spots on his arms, and her blush deepens. Grateful that his eyes are closed, she continues her work in silence - even though she is very much aware of both her and _his_ accelerated breathing, and how exceptionally much warmth he radiates on her and vice versa.

When she lets go of his arms for a few seconds to grab some bandages from her pack, she can see a ghost of a frown pass on the prodigy's face, and for a reason she can't quite explain, she is glad to have his arms back in her own to continue her work. When the bandaging is nearing its end, she fumbles with the linen, causing the bandage to unroll itself and prolong her work. She mutters an apology, and receives a small, approving nod - all the while convincing herself that it really, honestly, happened completely on an accident.

When the work is done and Neji's arm is covered in bandages again, he opens his eyes, and the two stare at each other in silence for a few seconds, during which Tenten swallows her words to 'take it easy', for she knows he will only be annoyed by it. She also hammers down the urge to say something stupid, like 'I wouldn't mind doing it again.' Instead, she remains silent, and when he stands up and thanks her, she can only chirp that he's welcome.

On her way to home, Tenten confirms herself that yes, she really wouldn't mind doing it again.

The next day she understands Neji must've realized that as well, for he is wearing a long-sleeved, traditional Hyuuga battle garb, and there are no bandages underneath it.

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End file.
